My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Long balls, small ball dooms Phillies as they lose to
the Marlins in extra-innings, 3-2.

The Phillies would waste a four-hit effort by their ace, Cole Hamels, before Clay Condrey would come in to blow it in the eleventh inning, as the Phillies lose to the Marlins in extra-innings, 3-2. The Phillies would score the game’s first run in the first inning on a RBI single by Ryan Howard, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who has gotten on base earlier with an infield single, to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. The Phillies would increase their lead to 2-0 in the third when Howard would hit a RBI double, scoring Chase Utley, who has earlier singled, all the way from first. The Marlins would cut the lead to 2-1 when Phillies’ starter Cole Hamels would give up a solo home run to Jeremy Hermida on a first pitch fast ball, Hermida’s twelfth home run of the year. That would remain the score for a while, although the Phillies would threathen to score another run late in the top of the seventh. Carlos Ruiz would start the inning off with a walk. After Hamels pops out trying to bunt him over, and Rollins then hit into a force out, third to second, wiping out Ruiz, Victorino would get on base with a double, sending Rollins to third. Utley would then load the bases after he is hit by the pitch. But Howard would end the inning by grounding out, second to first. In the eighth, the Marlins would tie the game as Hamels, who has been keeping the Marlins off-balanced via a nasty curveball, would throw his second bad pitch as he threw an 0-1 fast ball to Cody Ross, his sixteenth home run of the year. Neither team would be able to score in the ninth, sending the game into extra-innings. In the top of the eleventh, the Phillies threathen to score with two men out. After Pedro Feliz got on base on a Hanley Ramirez throwing error, he would go to second on a Ruiz single. The two would then move up a base on Marlins’ reliever Doug Waechter’s wild pitch. But that would be as far as they would get as pinch hitter Chris Coste struck out to end the inning. In the Marlins’ half of the eleventh, Clay Condrey would give up a lead off single to Alfredo Amezaga. He would then walk Ramirez, sending Amezaga to second. Hermida then follows with a bunt attempt to move the runners over, which instead becomes a single because Condrey appeared ready to throw to third, before he finally threw to first, too late to get Ramirez, loading the bases. Jorge Cantu then hits a single which bounces off of the scoreboard in left center field, scoring Amezaga for the winning run, giving the Marlins a 3-2 win.

Cole Hamels pitches another no-decision, as he is once again denied his tenth win of the year, although pitching eight solid innings of keeping the Marlins off-balanced, giving up only two earned runs on four hits, while striking out seven. Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin would combine to pitch two scoreless innings, giving up no hits between them. Clay Condrey would take the lost, giving up an earned run on three hits, getting no one out as he faced four batters. His record is now 2-2 with a ERA of 3.73. Josh Johnson would also get a no-decision, as he pitches six and two-thirds innings, giving up two earned runs on seven hits. Renyel Pinto, Joe Nelson, Kevin Gregg, and Matt Lindstrom would combine for three and a third innings of scoreless ball, giving up no hits. Doug Waechter would get the win, as he gives up no runs on one hit. His record is now 2-2 with a 3.35 ERA.

The Phillies’ offense would once again do them in, letting a starter off the hook in the early innings and then doing nothing for most of the rest of the game. This is really getting to be an annoyance as they are allowing it to occur too often. Cole Hamels unleased a rather nasty curveball that kept the Marlins’ batters off balanced, especially as he was starting off most batters with his junk, and not his fastball, which would end up hurting him as both home runs occurred because the batters were able to guess when he was throwing his fastball. But, if Hamels continues to use the curveball and constantly get it over for strikes, then he will be an even tougher pitcher for opposing hitters to face.

The Phillies will have the day off tomorrow before they start a three game series with the Mets starting on Tuesday. With the lost, the Phillies are once again tied for first place with the Mets as they have defeated the Reds in extra-innings. The Marlins are now trailing the Phillies and the Mets by half a game. The Braves are trailing the Phils and the Mets by six and a half games as they’d lost to the Nationals. The Phillies will now regroup as they play an important series with the Mets in New York, trying to defeat a National League East rival in a series who isn’t the Braves.

6 Comments

I really cannot believe that Hamels didn’t win this game. Even the two home runs he allowed were good pitches. The one to Hermida was high and inside, and I think the pitch to Ross was off the plate that he just took the other way. Cole was dominant for the most part, but I think it just shows how closely matched these two teams are. It should be a lot of fun the rest of the way. Good luck against the Mets….Obviously someone has to win :( so I’m hoping you guys can whack Santana around. The Mets are due for a losing skid anway after their 10 straight wins.http://myteamrivals.typepad.com/marlins_musings/

I can’t believe that Hamels didn’t win the game either, but, it just goes to show that a shake up of some kind is needed among the batters to get them going. That was just no excuse how they, for all intents and purposes, rolled over and played dead for most of that game. I mean, the Fox Broadcasters on Saturday and the Phillies’ Broadcasters on Sunday both mentioned that the Marlins pitching isn’t exactly world beaters and that the defense leaks like noone’s buisness. They’re only there because of the long balls the batters keep hitting, and that was proven yesterday since Hamels was only hurt yesterday by two long balls. Grrrr, somebody needs to take charge and start taking names and start kicking backsides over there.
Hermida just happen to guess right when he hit it out. As for Ross, wrong pitch, wrong time.
As for the Mets, while I agree that they need to start on a long skid, I’m beginning to wonder if the Phillies will be able to start it. Guess we’ll find out better on Wednesday than on Tuesday. Why? Because the headcase aka Brett Myers will be pitching that night. All fingers crossed.

Believe me, even though the pitching for Florida is better now that Johnson, Sanchez, and Volstad are in the rotation, I don’t know how they have managed to win up to this point without them. And our defense is the worst in the league…period. They play the game the wrong way, but somehow manage to win. I’m just as shocked as everyone else is.

Oh, the announcers on Fox Saturday Baseball and the Phillies’ announcers kept on pointing out why they keep winning. The Marlins’ batters ability to hit the long ball throughout the entire lineup. If that is ever stopped for a long enough period of time, the Marlins will fall back down to earth, mark my words.

Well it shouldn’t be a secret that the Marlins can hit the ball out of the park. It’s just that not too many people know it because Florida never gets much national attention. Last year they had as many home runs as the New York Yankees and were among the NL leaders in home runs as well…but they finished in last place behind the Nationals. What I meant was that this year they used the same forumla without their front-line pitchers again, but they have managed to hang in the race by just clubbing home runs….something that is proven by the history of the game that cannot win over the course of an entire season, yet it has surprisingly worked well enough for the first 100 or so games. Now once Sanchez returns in place of VandenHurk next week, Florida will have a completely different rotation than the one with Hendrickson, Miller, VandenHurk, Badenhop, Tucker, De La Cruz….etc….and can hang with the rest of the league…..either way, this team has stayed in it until NFL training camp, and that is good enough for me!
Good luck against Santana tonight! He gives up a ton of home runs, so he could be in for a rough day in your ballpark.http://myteamrivals.typepad.com/marlins_musings/

Well, it’s obvious that someone has noticed that about the Marlins’ batters. It’s just that no one seems to be telling the other teams’ pitchers how to minimize is that it would lead to situations like this past Sunday’s game. As for the starters, I guess we’ll see in the next few weeks how good they really are, especially if the batters get shut down by certain pitchers (Jamie Moyer. Pardon me, was that a blood curdling scream that I’d just heard? :)) in the league.
Actually, the Phillies are playing in Shea this week. And thanks for the good luck. The dummies who are suppose to be the Phils are going to need all the luck they can get.

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